·noun Government by the best citizens.
II. Aristocracy ·noun A ruling body composed of the best citizens.
III. Aristocracy ·noun A form a government, in which the supreme power is vested in the principal persons of a state, or in a privileged order; an Oligarchy.
IV. Aristocracy ·noun The nobles or chief persons in a state; a privileged class or patrician order; (in a popular use) those who are regarded as superior to the rest of the community, as in rank, fortune, or intellect.